id's RAGE gimped to accomodate the Xbox 360

[Onyxmeth]

makingmusic476 said:

Onyxmeth said:

There is so much bad in this interview it's not even funny. I have a feeling that ID software is trying to pin Microsoft to the wall over this by talking publicly about it. However, telling the fanbase for this game that it's confirmed "gimped" from the start is going to do nothing more than alienate fans from all platforms. Microsoft cannot change the fact that the 360 plays DVDs. What's done is done. ID needed to adapt to this situation before starting Rage and seeing whether the 360 was the right platform for this game. Obviously it wasn't. However, money talks, and ID thinks they need the userbase to sell. We had the same problems in the last gen when it was flipped around and games needed to be gimped on the Xbox and Gamecube because publishers needed that PS2 userbase.

I know how this well end up though. Microsoft is going to get the blame for this. It will be their fault that ID feels forced into developing for them, forced to sacrifice their game's integrity, forced to fit a square peg into a round hole. If this were taken a step further, and ID felt they needed the Wii's userbase for this game, and had the game refitted on all platforms to accomodate the Wii, would it then be Nintendo's fault? ID is making a game that does not belong on the 360 in it's prefered form, and it's ID's fault that they are making it for the 360 because of this, not Microsoft's.

Quick question though for those knowledgeable. Don't PC games also come out on DVDs? If they do then why aren't they also part of the problem?

But it IS Microsoft's fault.  id has stated that a third disc is probably all that would be necessary to make the 360 version of Rage as good as they originally intended it to be, but Microsoft's licensing fees make using a third disc far too costly.  That's the reason they brought these problems out for everybody to see.  It's an attempt to force Microsoft's hand, getting them to lower their licensing fees.

It apparently hasn't worked.

Microsoft probably instituted these hefty fee just so to keep Sony from having the "disc swapping" talking point, and it's probably why only Microsoft published games have gone past the two disc mark thus far (Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey - Microsoft doesn't have to pay itself royalties, afterall).

I wonder how this will effect the 360 version of FFXIII.  Luckily the ps3 version should be finished before they even begin the 360 version, should Square Enix stay true to their word.

Every console maker limits publishers in some way or another. It's an ugly part of the business that started a long time ago and will not change. Every console maker wants their games on a level playing field. Does it suck? Yes. Is this news though? No. ID is not some upstart developer that doesn't understand this. They've been around a long time.

Here's why it's not Microsoft's fault and why ID went the wrong direction in forcing Microsoft's hand. Show me any interview with any member of ID where they state that Microsoft has a gun to their head and are requiring a 360 port of Rage. There obviously isn't one, and it was ID's decision to develop a 360 port and gimp the game because of it. Is it necessary for a game to be on the 360 to be successful? I'm sure most would say no in most cases, and it's still true here. They have options and they chose the worst one for gamers. 360 owners should have either been S.O.L. or ID shoud have sucked it up and ate the additional royalty costs.We don't know how costly it really is, so it's hard to guage what "too costly" means.

What's funny is, had ID decided to announce that the 360 would not get the game because of this royalty cost, I can damn near guarantee that would have successfully forced Microsoft's hand into lifting the fee and thus would have solved the issue.